Le-Pen is now out of the race (the runoff on May 6 will be
between Sarkozy and Socialist challenger Hollande), but a 20
percent showing for the anti-immigration, Euroskeptic candidate
is a lightning bolt for France and all of Europe.

Sarkozy is now in a desperate situation, where he may have to
pander to hardliners in order to win (a move that could alienate
more moderate voters).

The other big event in Europe this weekend was in the
Netherlands, where a budget deal collapsed thanks to a revolt led
by another right winger: Geert Wilders.

The breakdown after seven weeks of talks on austerity measures
between Premier Mark Rutte's ruling coalition and Wilders'
eurosceptic, anti-Islamist Freedom Party (PVV) has destabilized
the political scene.

Wilders walked out of the talks on Saturday saying his party
"could not live up to" European Union demands, arguing that the
cuts aimed at steering The Netherlands back within EU deficit
targets would hit the elderly the hardest.

So the Netherlands, a country nobody was talking about, is now
without a budget, and without a government. Elections will have
to be called soon after the coalition breakdown. UPDATE:
Rutte is to offer his resignation.

There's something that's worth noting, which is that far-right
wing parties in Europe frequently have a tinge of economic
liberalism to them. As stated above, Wilders' party opposed cuts
due to the impact on the elderly.
Le Pen's solution would be for France to abandon the Euro
(eventually) and monetize its debt through its own currency.

Core Europe has been worried for some time that an election in a
peripheral country would produce a result that was anti-Euro.
However the latest developments show strength for anti-Euro
candidates in core countries.